A new poll from Bloomberg has found that six percent of Americans think Bitcoin is an Xbox game, and another six percent believe it to be a new iPhone app. Nearly half, 46 percent, were honest and said they just weren't sure. But, despite Bitcoin's relatively niche appeal, not to mention utility, quite a large percentage of the 1,004 Americans surveyed—42—correctly identified Bitcoin as a virtual currency.

Related Story

For the moment, Bitcoin primarily functions as an investment vehicle for those who believe that Bitcoin's value, currently hovering around $880 per Bitcoin, will eventually rise to ridiculous heights. As my colleague Matt O'Brien recently reported, "Researchersfrom the University of California-San Diego and George Mason University found that 64 percent of all bitcoins are being hoarded in accounts that have never been spent. And of the bitcoins that are being spent, a full 60 percent are on the gambling site Satoshi Dice."

For people not interested in putting their money into a novel and unproven investment, nor gambling at Satoshi Dice, Bitcoin is of little relevance. Olga Ruff, a jewelry business proprietor in Dallas (who, for her part, did correctly identify Bitcoin in the survey) told Bloomberg News, “What use would it be for me?”